Times: iPhone could be in 'same league' as DS, PSP
by Randy Nelson 
{ Aug 5th 2008 at 2:35AM }
In its article, "Can the iPhone Rule Gaming?," Time makes some compelling points. One quarter of all currently available iPhone app store titles are games, and, further to that, seven out of the top 10 paid app downloads are games. Also, as the article points out, a third of the iPhone userbase is in the game industry's hottest demographic, aged 26 and under. The article spotlights the ease of downloading games to the device directly as a key advantage over DS and PSP. These factors, combined with titles such as Spore: Origins, could, in Time's words, "Bring the iPhone into the same league as the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP."
Still, there are questions raised, particularly regarding software quality. The piece's author, Anita Hamilton, states, "Key to the iPhone's success as a gaming platform is a deep portfolio of titles that take advantage of the device's coolest attributes, such as its tilt sensor," adding that, "It remains to be seen ... whether iPhone games actually evolve beyond the amusing, lightweight titles available now."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Badger_badger_badger @ Aug 5th 2008 2:47AM
Oh snap, no d-pad or buttons.
Arttemis @ Aug 5th 2008 2:56AM
A complete lack of a swappable battery also seems like a perfect attribute for a "mobile gaming platform"!
rob @ Aug 5th 2008 3:50AM
What, just like the DS? Yeah, that failed.
Chase @ Aug 5th 2008 6:10AM
@Rob: The DS has buttons and a D-pad. The touch screen is just one part of a complete system. The iPhone would be an incomplete gaming system.
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 6:26AM
@Chase:
rob was referring to the "swappable battery" comment made just preceding it.
Curmeo 2.0 @ Aug 5th 2008 7:01AM
umm, all you gotta do is unscrew one small screw on the back of the DS to change the battery. you cant open the iPhone wihtout damaging it and voiding the warranty. besides the DS battery life is prefect, as is PSP. iPhone shares its two batteries for a bunch of things, like actually using the thing to make a call! and to make matters worse, iPhone 3G's battery life is worse as has been confirmed by Engadget, CNET etc.
jason @ Aug 5th 2008 11:46AM
Agree 100 percent. Powerful or not, NO buttons means gimmicky gameplay and NO alternative to classic gameplay. Try NES emulator for proof.
Tiptup300 @ Aug 5th 2008 11:17AM
Do you need service with the iphone for mobile gaming?
Shagittarius @ Aug 5th 2008 11:51AM
This is yet another platform for CASUAL games.
So if you ignore the difference between it and a PSP just beacuse the NDS has sold more and is the portable 'leader' then I see how you could draw the conclusion that the iPhone could be #1.
This will only ever be true for casual games though.
Saria the Cat @ Aug 5th 2008 2:46PM
Wow, Curmeo, you actually said something that makes a lot of sense. I'm impressed.
Curmeo 2.0 @ Aug 5th 2008 5:05PM
thanks Saria, though you havent made any comment that has impressed me.
Crazylink @ Aug 5th 2008 2:50AM
I doubt the iPhone will ever be able to reach out as far as the DS and PSP. One reason being that it's a phone and carries all the costs of being one with it. An iPod Touch has a better chance, t's a one time investment.
Organic_Shadow @ Aug 5th 2008 3:57AM
I agree. How many people have iphones? Then think about the cost, and how you have to go through digital distro-only. This won't be something you see mom grabbing for her 10 year old. The DS/PSP and all it's many PHYSICAL games sitting on the shelf will do just fine- especially with the price comparison.
Sure, they _could_ be in the same league as DS/PSP games as far as polish and quality, but iphone gaming will never hit AS mass market mainstream as the former platforms.
klitorisaurus @ Aug 5th 2008 5:22AM
Oh for sure! Who wants to be bothered with a gaming device that calls people? You mean you have to pay monthly? F that! It's all about the pay phones bitches!!
Toasty Toaster Man @ Aug 5th 2008 2:56AM
Isn't that the DS version of Super Monkey Ball?
I DeX I @ Aug 5th 2008 2:57AM
Maybe we can get a transparent over-lay on the screen. One that has button symbols and such. I sure do miss the 'ol Atari dayz.
Snowman @ Aug 5th 2008 3:01AM
The accelerometer of the iPhone is good, but its not good enough to truly ever replace a d-pad. But for sure the iPhone has a crazy amount of power for a cell phone so I think we'll see a good amount of games that will be top notch graphically.
Noshino @ Aug 5th 2008 3:17AM
I do think that the iPhone will increase revenue and also expand the videgame market, but I really doubt that it will on the same league as the DS and PSP.
There are many factors that the author was quick to disregard, for example she mentions the fact that one of the main advantages of the iPhone is the App Store, but doesn't mention that there is a rather large difference between the size of the games for PSP/DS and the ones available on the App Store.
Not only that, but she hasn't mentioned one of the main disadvantages of the iPhone, lack of buttons, the touchscreen on the DS is a nice feature, but its the combination of it and the buttons that makes it good.
Then there is also the lack of support, Apple doesn't have 1st party studios.
And also, they are very late to the party, unlike Microsoft that by the time they arrived did bring new things to the board (although one could argue that DreamCast had online service first, Microsoft went beyond that with a full fledged XBL), the App Store, which is supposed to be the main feature that is to help the iPhone on the videogame industry, will be outdate within 1 year or so when the next DS and PSP are released...
Oh, and I forgot to mention, Apple has this habit of releasing hardware revision at a fast pace, something that is quite uncommon and not very welcome on the videogame industry
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 3:44AM
Other than that some of your arguements are invalid..
a) The iPhone Store is not a replacement for regular physical component games. Just as the XBLA is not a replacement for CD-based XBoX 360 games, or games downloaded from PSN a replacement for mini-CD based PSP games.
b) Touchpad can emulate buttons to some extent. The fact of it being multi-touch circumvents the conventional disadvantages of a normal touchpad for emulating a D-pad.
c) Being late is not an excuse. You could say that the PSP was extremely late for the party, and the iPhone brings a lot more than just the Apple store. (having a mobile network API is a large advantage for any kind of mobile network games, just for example)
d) And hardware revisions didn't slow down the XBox 360 by that much.
e) Oh, and nice time-machine there. Where did you hear about this "next DS/PSP"?
Now, the only problem that has distinct merit is quality and quantity of games (and marketting). If anything else, I'd say it has a better chance of succeeding than the N-Gage... though that's not saying much. *cough*
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 3:47AM
Other than that some of your arguements are invalid..
a) The iPhone Store is not a replacement for regular physical component games. Just as the XBLA is not a replacement for CD-based XBoX 360 games, or games downloaded from PSN a replacement for mini-CD based PSP games.
b) Touchpad can emulate buttons to some extent. The fact of it being multi-touch circumvents the conventional disadvantages of a normal touchpad for emulating a D-pad.
c) Being late is not an excuse. You could say that the PSP was extremely late for the party, and the iPhone brings a lot more than just the Apple store. (having a mobile network API is a large advantage for any kind of mobile network games, just for example)
d) And hardware revisions didn't slow down the XBox 360 by that much.
e) Oh, and nice time-machine there. Where did you hear about this "next DS/PSP"?
Now, the only problem that has distinct merit is quality and quantity of games (and marketting + costs), since considering it's an Apple product, I'm reasonably sure that the hardware quality is at least of reasonable level. If anything else, I'd say it has a better chance of succeeding than the N-Gage... though that's not saying much. *cough*
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 3:48AM
And on that note, refresh button phail. *pokes Joystiq network*
Noshino @ Aug 5th 2008 4:32AM
a)The App Store is the only solution available for the iPhone, what other medium is available?
b)Regardless, a touchpad alone is not a good "controller", hell, as it is, the iPhone's is not as responsive
c)Selective reading much? I said that there isn't a problem with being late as long as something new is brought to the party, as for the PSP, it wasn't only the fact that it was a technical powerhouse, but the fact that it had the PS that helped it become the success it is, something that Apple does not have on the videogame industry. Also, would you care to expand on the advantages of mobile network API?
d)Are you really comparing the hardware revisions of the 360 to the utterly pointless almost yearly revision of the Apple products? Hell, it only took them 13 months to release another iPhone
e)It is rather naive to not think that the next PSP/DS will be release, or at least announced within a year or so
There were many factors involved with the N-Gage's failure, but lack of titles was not one of them, and also, I'm sure that the announcement of the PSP at E3 03 must have hurt sales as well.
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 6:25AM
a) I may be wrong in this, but I was considering the iPhone to be similar to other smart phones... which can also install products via a PC (or Mac) link.
b) I've not heard of any complaints of slow responsiveness of the touchpad. I was assuming it to be as responsive as any other touchpad. (aka responsive enough to simulate double-clicking)
c) Ok, mobile network API allows communications with a server using mobile network protocols. Aka all that 3G nonsense you've been hearing about (which is in essence, just another upgraded and updated network.) For instance, anything to do with server side interaction uses a network API. (which incidently, is how most online games work)
Basically for this point, you're arguing that the iPhone adds nothing to the gaming environment, which is false, since it adds all the phone capabilities to the environment. In addition to the iPhone uniques such as the multi-touch and tilt sensors...
d) I was refering to the upgrade from XBox to XBox 360. But yes, there's no reason to believe that future changes will affect current software. The new changes from what I recall only upgrades it's network capabilities to be able to access the new network, while not reducing any other functionality. Is there something wrong with that?
e) Proof please. There's plenty of reasons why a full update may not happen soon. Let me state one: because the current generation is still selling strong, with games still in development for said generation.
rv @ Aug 5th 2008 10:35AM
Come on, put an end to this right now. Will there ever be a 15 hour game released for the iphone? No. Sure, it will have alot of casual games, but I don't think any dev is going to put a full fledged game on the iphone. It will never overtake the psp or ds in that category.
LocalToast @ Aug 5th 2008 3:41AM
Well of course game sales are going smooth for the iPhone.
Casual games for a casual audience. Why play Metal Gear Solid when I could play Monkey Ball and Bejeweled?
tehvoid @ Aug 5th 2008 3:42AM
I
tc @ Aug 5th 2008 12:52PM
before E
tehvoid @ Aug 5th 2008 3:45AM
I wonder what % of software sold are games.
Syn @ Aug 5th 2008 3:53AM
Thanks, but no thanks.
Brad Mecoli @ Aug 5th 2008 4:10AM
It's Apple.
Games are like Kryptonite to Apple products.
I don't see this getting very far.
arrrgh @ Aug 5th 2008 12:10PM
lold and truth
gbutler @ Aug 5th 2008 4:38AM
Wow...the iPhone is as powerful as platforms released in 2004...
Gosh, what are those kids at Apple going to come up with next? An iPod Nano that can rival a Game Gear?
Vandell @ Aug 5th 2008 5:49AM
.. What? Doesn't the PSP only have enough power to barely match a PS2? (If that.)
The iPhone and iPod touch are absolutely tiny compared to the other two systems, with the same or more power, and vastly superior functionality. I'm posting this response via an iPod Touch, in fact.
rv @ Aug 5th 2008 10:30AM
That must have taken you quite a while.
Vandell @ Aug 5th 2008 3:37PM
@rv
No. >:
When you get used to the typing, you can do it at an average of five letters a second. It'll never be as fast as keyboard, but it's still quite a lot better than most other handheld devices on the market, especially due to the auto spell checker, amongst other things.
Fun fact: it took me a minute to type that.
Anyhoo, I want the iPhone/Touch to do well in the games market, mostly because I own one. c.c;
Falafelkid @ Aug 5th 2008 5:02AM
I hate to point out a typo, but your headline confuses TIME magazine with The Times.
Other than that, I totally agree with those who have pointed out that the iPhone´s controls are good but nowhere near good enough to replace traditional elements like analogue buttons. Carmack may be excited and the device is sure to broaden the market, but it will never be able to facilitate complex portable games such as a Metroid Prime Hunters, Mario Kart (or 64 DS, for that matter) or a Portable Ops.
Kye - Me_DF @ Aug 5th 2008 5:04AM
Do I like the iPhone? Yes.
Would I but an iPhone? Yes.
Would I play games on it? Yes.
Would I trade in my DS for it? No.
Nor can I see the average parent buying an iPhone for little Timmy/ Keisha/ Ismael.
Duke @ Aug 5th 2008 10:38AM
I agree with your rundown.
I think the phone makes its owners less inclined to go out and get a gaming device for casual games on the run. Yet I would be amazed if anyone who is a "gamer' would not get a dedicated handheld for more in depth gaming.
Malkmus @ Aug 5th 2008 1:03PM
You guys keep ignoring the fact that you don't need the iphone to play these games. You can download them on an ipod touch as well, meaning it is likely that little Timmy/Keisha/whoever will have easy access to these games too.
chispito @ Aug 5th 2008 2:00PM
Little Timmy's parents are idiots if they bought their Pokemon aged child an iPod Touch.
Saria the Cat @ Aug 5th 2008 2:58PM
@Chispito: Seriously. Why should any kids under 12 even OWN a cell phone? Unless you get them a solid brick phone with 10 layers of foam padding that you get for free when you sign up.
klitorisaurus @ Aug 5th 2008 5:50AM
So is the question:
Will iPhone have games that rival PSP/DS in quality?
or
Will iPhone sell more games than PSP or DS?
I think in 5 years the iPhone will have an enormous user base that will undoubtedly purchase a few games. However, since it is limited to one carrier in most countries it automatically cuts out a large majority of it's target audience. As an iPhone user I can safely say that it is by far the most amazing and polished device I've ever used. I couldn't imagine going back to a normal phone. Unfortunately for the iPhone, it's in an entirely different market then the PSP and DS. There are tons of competitors that have, and will emulate the iPhone for other carriers, effectively lowering the iPhones market share. Meanwhile Nintendo and Sony will continue to duke it out alone in the realm of gaming.
I think eventually mobile gaming and mobile communications will merge, at which point the iPhone will have a decisive head start, but that day is still a few years off.
Corbo @ Aug 5th 2008 5:57AM
I expect the iPhone will make a lot more software sales than most other phones, but I doubt it'll ever come to rival the dedicated systems. The most obvious reason is the relative cost and inconvenience of buying it just for games, but it's also unlikely that Apple will ever market it as a games device.
The downloadable apps are great (and I'd love to see something similar in the next generation of handhelds, for demos at least) but most of them are pretty simple and I doubt they'll get much more complicated in the near future.
The iPhone's much too popular as a general gadget to go the way of the Ngage but I think history has taught us to be wary of the gaming potential of phone/console hybrids.
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 6:31AM
History has only taught me to be weary of Nokia handhelds.
Was there any other significany mobile gaming push from any other phone company?
Psaakyrn @ Aug 5th 2008 6:46AM
Addendum:
The point is not of whether it's marketted for games (it's not), but whether it's intended market will grow sufficiently large to surpass games (granted unlikely). Just as the DS is not marketted as an educational tool, but due to it's large market, informative software gets developed for it anyway, and sell reasonably well (compared to other informative software)
The main reason why the apps are simple is because of the iPhone API, which in my opinion, is a little too restrictive (compared to Windows Mobile). Microsoft probably needs to do only one step to kill off any fledging iPhone game industry, and that's to make a version of XNA specifically for Windows Mobile compatability. No hardware lock, and an API which game developers are actually used to.
Brandon @ Aug 5th 2008 6:47AM
Much like the Wii in that a game has to really be designed to take advantage of its unique control system, the iPhone can be a major force in the gaming industry IMHO. I wasn't as firm a believer until I played MotionX Poker, which is incredibly addictive and beautiful even while being simple.
Will it overtake the DS/PSP for pure gaming, no way. But does it have the graphical fidelity combined with a powerful enough engine that it can deliver a stellar product when the design team properly takes its unique strengths into consideration?
Absolutely.
Curmeo 2.0 @ Aug 5th 2008 6:48AM
lol...lets run down the list, shall we?
- crap battery life and no battery replacement option
- no dpad, no face buttons, no shoulder buttons
- no hand/thumb stylus for precise control
- too pricey: not just the phone itself, but especially the monthly costs
- the tilt sensor has worse precision than the SIXAXIS, and there are only 2 axis directions to work with.
seriously, focusing on being a smartphone, Apple. you cant even get that right (no copy and paste, no MMS, no Stereo bluetooth, no video recording, no flash support, crap camera, the list goes on).
ill trooper @ Aug 5th 2008 2:00PM
...And still it sells well. People don't seem to care about that stuff as much as some think they should.
It's better than either of my previous SE smartphones, even with the lacking features (which I do wish it had, but I've found I haven't missed them as much as I thought I would). There are glaring features missing that I haven't needed but I still wish they were an option, if only to shut the haters up.
You give a short list of lacking features, but omit all of the things it totally fucking decimates other devices at - as though you'd rather have 'video recording' over a kick-ass browsing experience, or MMS over a stable, amazing OS. Or perhaps you'll reach down in your pocket and grab that second battery you always carry for your phone? I agree, it should have it all, but it doesn't yet, and yet I still find it to operate better, and be a better experience than the previous phones I had with MMS, copy and paste, video recording, and many of the sideline complaints I see people offer as reasons to dislike it.
I guess you've read that the battery has 'crap life,' but I've been fine with it. With typical use for such a device, it'll last me all day, and with light use, two days. And the camera is good for a phone.
But it's cool, I'm not trying to sell you something you don't like. You're just coming off like one of those guys who only reads spec sheets and doesn't look at the end experience.
meist3r @ Aug 5th 2008 7:01AM
A device that has a builtin battery that costs 70 bucks to replace and can't be switched on the fly? This will never be a true portable gaming device. What if you lost all your battery life on some weird game (say on a flight) and need to make a call badly (say when you are in a foreign country and someone should pick you up). Just because John Carmack says it's pretty powerful that doesn't mean it's a gaming platform. And on top of that look at the great gaming platform Apple has been for the last couple of years: rofl.
John Z @ Aug 5th 2008 7:32AM
As much as I'm an admitted, dyed-in-the-wool Apple fanboy (first out of the store with my 16 gig 3G on launch day!), I've been really hesitant to do any huge amount of gaming on the iPhone simply because I don't see the device as a replacement for the DS/PSP. Do I have games on it? Sure-- after whiling away sitting-in-the-theater-before-the-previews time with Bejeweled on my old phones, I'd be silly NOT to put at least a game or two on it (and spot on with Tap Tap Revenge). But I'd also be equally silly to not bring my DS into the theater with me for just such a purpose these days.
North Americans don't tend to use their phones as game devices, and I don't think the iPhone/App Store will change that all that much. Then again, North Americans previously didn't really value non-phone features on their handsets before the iPhone made extra stuff 'cool', so it could certainly change things there. Overall, though, the one thing standing in the way of widespread adoption of the iPhone as a gaming platform is AT&T-- as long as they hold exclusivity, I really, really doubt people are going to jump carriers en masse just for, and I hate having to resort to this label, 'casual games'.